Warrior Archives - Tena Stetler

Aug 1st Interview – Nancy Northcott, Author of Warrior!

Give a warm welcome to Nancy Northcott, author of Warrior (The Light Mage Wars Book 2)!

Pull up a chair, grab a drink of your choice from the cooler, a Chocolate Chip or Peanut Butter cookie from the plate, and let’s find out a little about Nancy and Warrior.

Why do you write what you write? Ie. Contemporary, paranormal, suspense, etc.

I write what I like to read. I’m a very eclectic reader, so I tend to be an eclectic writer. I loved comic books and fairy tales when I was growing up, so writing mages is a natural for me. Though the magic functions one way in my paranormal romances and another in my historical fantasies, the characters in both genres have magical abilities that function kind of like superpowers.

The mysteries I loved growing up—I was a serious fan of Nancy Drew—and the thrillers I gravitated to as an adult funneled me toward romantic suspense.

(Tena here) Ohh… I loved Nancy Drew. I still have that whole collection. Back to Warrior, what inspired this particular story?

I’ve always been interested in archaeology, and it seemed a natural fit for my geek hero, Will. He has a couple of black belts, an encyclopedic brain, and a serious love of all things related to science fiction, fantasy, or comics.

His heroine, Audra, is part Cherokee. I come from North Carolina, where the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation resides, so Audra seemed a natural way to expand the cultural range of my characters.

Do you see yourself in your characters?

Not exactly, though there’s a little of me in all of them. I’m into science fiction, fantasy, and comics, as Will is, and I took martial arts. I would never be an archaeologist, though, because, hey, bones. I don’t even like handling bones in meat, so actual people bones are something I’d rather avoid. And let’s don’t even think about mummies!

Audra is quiet, as I tend to be, in new surroundings, but she’s a geek girl at heart. As a result, she and Will are surprised to discover some common interests.

The hero and heroine of the next Light Mage Wars book, Nemesis, which I’m writing now, are not geeks but builders. They met in the Seabees, the US Navy’s construction arm. My parents met while they were both in the Navy, though not in the Seabees. But my dad liked to build things, and I enjoyed helping him.

What do you want your readers to take away from your books?

I want them to have a good time, to feel immersed and relate to the characters because that’s how I like to feel when I read. When they get to the end, I want them to feel satisfied.

Tell us about Warrior.

A Woman Tormented by Darkness

Archaeologist Audra Grayson is finding out-of-place relics that could torpedo her already shaky career. Now brilliant, sexy consultant Will Davis is sent to take over. Worse, working on the site strengthens the evil shadow that nearly ruined her before, and she fears he not only suspects her of fraud but thinks she’s crazy–unfit for the job.

A Mage Who Must Oppose it At All Costs

Will magically senses the darkness in Audra when they meet, and he vows to ignore their growing attraction. When deadly ghouls target her project, Will realizes they want the odd relics to open a portal for demons from the Void between worlds, making everything on Earth an endangered species.

The Fate of the World at Stake

With ghoul attacks escalating and mage traitors in league with the enemy, time is running out for Will to stop the portal from opening. The chemistry between him and Audra threatens to combust, but the darkness within her may give the enemy its chance. If she’s its victim, he must free her. If she’s its ally, he must destroy the love of his life.

A peek between the pages of Warrior:

Audra’s slow, answering smile hit him like a kick in the chest. Her eyes brightened, and the corners of her full, lush mouth curved upward.

Will wrenched his gaze away, to the thickets of loblolly bay and saw palmetto around them. “When we get back to the dock and have cell service, I’ll call from there and make the arrangements.”

“Thank you.” Walking slightly ahead of him, she rounded the burial mound. And froze.

“Will,” she said in a strangled voice.

On reflex, he stepped in front of her. The trenches should’ve been covered, but they were open, bare to the elements, and gouges revealed hasty digging along the sides. The tools they’d left in the tent were strewn over the site, as were broken bits of pottery and stone fragments.

The grid was destroyed, sandy soil jumbled into heaps in the trench. Rage bubbled into Will’s chest. He opened his senses wide, sending his magic outward to seek the intruder.

No one but the team seemed to be there. Good.

The students swore. Audra simply gaped, her face ashen. Stricken. She looked as though this were one blow too many.

Will jammed his fists in his pockets to keep from putting an arm around her.

The chaotic digging, the scattering of tools, was typical of ghouls. His extended senses caught a faint, barely discernible trace of magic.

Ghoul magic.

The trace was so faint that they must’ve left here hours ago, so at least there wasn’t that menace to worry about. Nor did he pick up any remnant of mage power that would imply the traitor’s presence here. Though that might’ve faded altogether.

Tears welled in Libby’s eyes, and Joe and Kevin wore matching scowls.

“Amateurs,” Will said coolly. “Can’t trust ‘em for shit.”

Everyone stared at him.

“Whoever did this,” he told them, “was either untrained or in too much of a hurry to take care. Or maybe just a stupid vandal. Whichever, we have to deal with it. Kevin, you got the camera?”

When the young man nodded, Will said, “Take photos of everything from every angle but don’t move anything until that’s done.”

“Why would anyone do this?” Libby asked. She looked dazed.

Despite Audra’s distress, she reached out to squeeze the young woman’s shoulder.

“People are always ready to sell artifacts,” Audra noted quietly. “Whether they have the right to them or not.”

“Yeah, well, some people are scumbags,” Joe said.

Will responded, “Can’t argue with that. But let’s get busy. Joe, take Libby and check the tent. Call out if you find anything. I’ll be right behind you.”

As the students started on their tasks, Will pulled Audra aside. “Any ideas what’s going on?” he asked quietly.

She shook her head. “This is a site like so many others around the country, except this one happens to be here. I don’t get this, Will. I have no clue.”

He wasn’t as good as some at reading Mundane moods, but her distress seemed sincere. Yet he could sense the darkness amping up around her. In contrast to her shock and dismay, the vibe he picked up was almost gleeful.

Emotions played over her face–shock giving way to grief, then anger, and finally settling into what looked like grim, hopeless determination, and he crossed his arms to keep from touching her. This urge to comfort a woman he barely knew, a woman with dark magic around her, was beyond stupid.

Audra crouched to pick up a broken potsherd.

Cursing silently, he noticed her strong, graceful hands as she gently brushed dirt aside. He’d seen enough yesterday to know her hands were capable in the field. Were they as capable in bed?

Shit. He was never going to know that. Shouldn’t wonder about it. Hooking up with her was not part of his plan, and she was not his wounded sparrow to tend. He couldn’t afford that kind of attachment–to her or to any woman.

If she was a pawn of the darkness around her, he needed a clear head to cut her free of it. If she proved to be in league with it, though, if she posed any threat to her students, he would have to destroy her.

You can find Warrior on Amazon, Nook, Kobo, and ibooks.

About the author:

Nancy Northcott’s childhood ambition was to grow up and become Wonder Woman. Around fourth grade, she realized it was too late to acquire Amazon genes, but she still loved comic books, science fiction, fantasy, history, and romance. A sucker for fast action and wrenching emotion, Nancy combines the magic, romance and high stakes she loves in the books she writes.

Reviewers have described her books as melding fantasy, romance, and suspense. Library Journal gave her debut novel, Renegade, a starred review, calling it “genre fiction at its best.”

Nancy’s Social Media links;

www.nancynorthcott.com

Twitter: @NancyNorthcott

Facebook: https://facebook.com/nancynorthcottauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3468806.Nancy_Northcott

Thanks for having me today, Tena!

My pleasure Nancy! Please feel free to stop by anytime. Good Luck with Warrior!